Redbirds fall to Las Vegas as rally falls short again

51s benefit as late-inning woes mount

Then again, they've been in that situation plenty of times this season and have been unable to pull through. Monday night at AutoZone Park was no different.

The Redbirds had the bases loaded with one out, but were unable to muster any runs as they lost to Las Vegas, 5-2, in front of 5,755.

"That's what it usually comes down to in close ball games, getting that timely hit and tonight, we just didn't do it," Redbirds manager Pop Warner said.

The Redbirds are now an astounding 1-44 when trailing after six innings, so it was no big surprise when they failed to deliver against the 51s.

With one out, Chad Huffman reached safely on an infield single between short and third. From there, Las Vegas reliever Greg Burke tried his best to help the Redbirds out.

Burke hit Greg Garcia to put runners on first and second. Then, before Justin Christian could settle into the batter's box, Burke plunked him, too, to load the bases.

Catcher Travis Tartamella was unable to connect, however, striking out for the second out. Then, pinch hitter Ryan Jackson grounded out to third to end the game, and add to the Redbirds' frustrations of once again not being able to rally late.

"You can probably look at most of the records in this league after the sixth or seventh inning and I don't think too many people are having success," Warner said. "You've got the bullpens and matching up and usually at this level, there's some pretty good guys down there. It's tough to scratch runs against people's bullpens at the Triple-A level."

The Redbirds may not have needed the late heroics had it not been for one bad inning from starter Tyler Lyons (6-2). The 25-year-old lefthander cruised through the first three innings like he has for most of the season.

But he lost command of his fastball in the fourth and the 51s made him pay. Eric Campbell led off with a single to left, which was followed by a double to right center by Wilmer Flores.

Zach Lutz doubled in both runners before Lyons recorded an out. And after hitting Brandon Hicks, Lyons served up a three-run homer to catcher Francisco Pena to cap the five-run inning.

"He was doing fine and had that little hiccup," Warner said. "That was the difference."

The Redbirds took an early lead when Mike O'Neill singled and scored on a groundout by Jermaine Curtis in the first. They had a chance for a big inning in the fifth when they loaded the bases with no outs.

But they only scored once, when O'Neill hit into a double play that allowed Christian to score.